After the ban, whats next? I write for @htTweets (1/n)

#ChineseAppsBlocked https://www.hindustantimes.com/analysis/after-the-ban-what-next-for-india-s-digital-ecosystem/story-beF2f9jhqAWYYHRlk49G9J.html

Many have warned that the Internet might splinter along national borders in the future, as countries such as India increasingly assert their sovereignty in #cyberspace. This reality seems closer than ever. 2/n

It is worth asking whether India is prepared for a Balkanised digital world...India accounts for 16% of mobile data consumption, and 14% of global population. However, India has not begun to generate commensurate economic value from this outsized data consumption yet. 3/n

The US and China account for 90% of the market capitalisation of the 70 largest digital platforms in the world. They also account for 75% of all patents related to blockchain technologies, 50% of spending on the #IoT, and > 75% of the global market for public cloud computing. 4/n

The emergence of this bipolar digital landscape narrows India’s strategic choices. The world’s largest digital democracy must foster innovation, competition and scale in the private sector, as well as increase State capacity to govern new markets in parallel. 5/n

Many of the companies that India banned on Monday are platforms. They achieved multi-functionality and a global scale because, like the US, China allows its digital entrepreneurs to take risks. 6/n

The PRC picks winners and provides unconditional State support for its national champions to scale. On the other hand, the US provides legal certainty for innovation and competition to flourish. India will have to strike a balance between both these approaches. 7/n

In either case, sudden bans cannot be part of India’s playbook. The digital ecosystem is a breeding ground for the creative destruction. It must also prompt a revisit of old approaches to economic regulation, including blunt instruments reminiscent of the licence-permit raj. 8/n

India’s digital applications are governed by a 20-year-old law and an eight-year-old policy. Both are unsuitable to digital markets because they were designed for the business process outsourcing ecosystem, not for modern digital applications or platforms. 9/n

Similarly, the Copyright Act, which provides incentives and protections for most of the content, organised datasets and source codes, that sit at the heart of the digital economy, was last amended in 2012. 10/n

India’s top 10 digital companies are valued at a tenth of the Chinese equivalents, while its per capita income is about 44% of China’s. There is, therefore, room for India to unlock greater value through a digital reboot of rules and regulations. 11/n

Finally, just as India is revisiting its alignments in international relations, it must develop a cogent strategy for trade and commerce in the digital economy. If the revenues of ITeS are anything to go by, a majority of digital economy revenues will come from exports. 12/n

A large share of these exports will head westwards. This trend will hold because the economic impact of the pandemic is likely to be more pronounced in developing countries than in developed ones. The country will need exports to offset the slowdown in domestic consumption. 13/n

Since global trade is built on the principle of reciprocity, India must do to others, as it wishes for itself. 14/14